Brazil’s cooperation in African agricultural development and food security

Brazil’s agricultural cooperation in Africa is shifting from small localised projects to more structured ventures capable of having larger and more durable impacts on African rural development. Nonetheless, it still suffers from in­ adequate coordination between relevant ministries and other governmental bodies. However, the coexistence of two agricultural development paradigms in Brazil’s cooperation should not be seen as incoherent. Rather, it is a direct reflection of the two­tiered structure of Brazil’s agricultural policy framework, with support for agribusiness provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento) and for family farming by MDA. Consequently, the Brazilian government has attempted to present both as part of the Brazil–Africa Dialogue to enable African ministers to learn about the wide range of policies implemented in Brazil. Combined with demand­driven horizontal cooperation, the approach has enabled African countries to choose between (and sometimes combine) approaches to promoting their agriculture.

DOI: 10.5040/9781350218338